Friday, 20 April 2012

Malaysian stocks ease on global weakness

KUALA LUMPUR (April 20) : Malaysians stocks fell on Friday morning in tandem with regional peers following a weaker overnight close across US markets. Global markets had reacted negatively to less-optimistic employment updates in the US, and rising yields for Spain government bonds.

Analysts said external factors could have the upper hand in dictating the FBM KLCI, prompting the anticipation of a further decline in the 30-stock benchmark.

“External headwinds will probably persist to push down our Malaysian bourse today,” HwangDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd wrote in note.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI fell 2.52 points to 1,594.1. Across the exchange, some 257 million shares worth RM148 million were traded, leading to 163 gainers versus 167 decliners.